Cerberus Daily News - October 2011
For canon information, see the Mass Effect Wiki page for Cerberus Daily News. This page is for CDN members' non-canon additions. The following stories contributed by Cerberus Daily News forum members were published on the CDN newsfeed during October 2011. See the main Cerberus Daily News page for current updates. October 2011 – Week One 10/01/11 - CDEM engages in tunnel warfare Troops from the Council Demilitarization and Enforcement Mission entered Clan Torak’s ancestral capital, today, only to encounter another unexpected development. The clan’s leadership and defense forces have fled into a previously unknown series of tunnels under the city. The CDEM has followed, and is engaging in bloody, underground warfare against fortified Torak positions. CDEM representatives have stated they have reason to believe that stockpiles of prohibited weapons, as well as the six krogan wanted for the University of Serrice incident, are in the tunnels. Attempts to flood the tunnels with knockout gas have proven unsuccessful, as the krogan are wearing sealed combat hardsuits. October 2011 – Week Two 10/02/11 - Frontier colony hit hard by influenza Reports from the Attican Traverse indicate that an Alliance colony is being hit hard by the flu. Although the influenza outbreak from earlier this year has mostly died down, it seems to have flared up significantly on the colony of New Hope, in the Hagerson System. Officials with the Alliance Center for Disease Control speculate that the outbreak may be particularly harsh there due to a combination of factors, including an underdeveloped sanitation system on the new colony. The colony is not under quarantine, but all humans and asari have been advised to exercise caution when traveling there. 10/03/11 - Former FCC reporter claims innocence Mere weeks after admitting to falsifying stories, former Future Content Reporter Tanil Tarizz is once again claiming innocence. In a statement from his family home on Mannovai, Tarizz accused the FCC of setting him up. “They forced me to write that statement on my official blog,” he said. “They said they’d fire me unless I admitted to making up stories. But after I posted the blog entry, they went back on their word and fired me anyway. Now I’m speaking of my own free will. And I’m telling you that I’m innocent, and that I’ve been set up.” Tarizz refused to discuss his accusations in detail, but said that he is considering a range of actions against the FCC. “I might sue them. Or I might not,” he said. “Just talking could be enough. I know enough to bring the entire company to the ground.” 10/04/11 - Torak protests spark fight Peace activists on the Citadel held new protests against the CDEM operation at Clan Torak, today. The protests were larger than previous events, and occured on the Presidium and in each of the wards. However, the Zakera Ward protests turned violent, after a group of counter protesters arrived and began hurling rotten fruit at peace demonstrators. The incident quickly escalated into a full scale brawl that required C-Sec intervention. At least 23 people have been arrested, a number of whom are CDEM veterans who wanted to show their displeasure with peace protests. “These protesters owe their freedom to the CDEM,” said one. “If they like the krogan so much, they should go live with them. Let them see what happens when they try to protest on Tuchanka.” 10/05/11 - Former reporter claims FCC has Cerberus ties Ex-Future Content Corporation Reporter Tanil Tarizz claimed today that his former employer is “riddled with reporters who harbor Cerberus loyalties,” and that the news organization is frequently used to pass coded messages to Cerberus agents, or to run stories with subtle, pro-Cerberus biases. “Most of the pro-Cerberus reporters, ironically, were hired in the aftermath of last year’s Ceberus ‘witch hunt,’” said Tarizz. “I’m half convinced Cerberus sparked the whole thing on purpose, so they could open positions at outfits like the FCC and move their own people in.” The reporter went on to claim that he had been developing a story on the matter for months, only to repeatedly have it blocked by his superiors. “I gave up on the FCC, and approached GBC News with my story,” Traizz said. “At that point, I was suddenly hit with accusations of ‘falsifying’ the news.” 10/06/11 - University of Armstrong students punished Two University of Armstrong students have been expelled, and another four suspended, as punishment for a prank that damaged the Aldrin Library’s collection of paper books. After two days of deliberation, the University’s disciplinary committee decided that two ringleaders, both upperclassmen who have been identified as planning the prank, should face the worst punishment. The suspended students are all freshmen and sophomores, and are expected to return to Armstrong after two semesters have passed. University of Armstrong students seem generally supportive of the decision, but a few seem to feel it is overly harsh. “It was just a prank,” said one upperclassman. “So what if a few books were damaged? Is it really worth ruining someone’s future over?” 10/07/11 - Investigation turns up freighter oddities Scientists from the Vol Protectorate, the Asari Republics, and the Turian Hierarchy have joined the team investigating the MSV Deep Space Prince. A leaked report on their early findings indicates they have discovered some irregularities. The findings confirm that the freighter contained the entire crew’s personal belongings, but that all records of the trip have been wiped. In an even stranger twist, the ship contains no biological evidence of habitation whatsoever. “It’s like the entire ship was sterilized,” wrote an investigator. “The crew’s things are there, but beyond that, there are no signs at all that sentients other than the rescue crew ever set foot on this ship. No finger prints, no fluid samples, not even skin flakes.” 10/08/11 - GBC News was considering FCC story A spokesperson from GBC News confirmed today that ex-Future Content Corporation Reporter Tanil Tarizz approached them with a story about Cerberus operators at the FCC. According to the spokesperson, GBC “was still verifying the story” when accusations emerged about stories Tarizz had written regarding the war on Garvug. “The Garvug accusations didn’t exactly help him,” said the spokesperson. “But we evaluate all story proposals on their own merit. Frankly, we opted not to run the FCC story because we felt that Tarizz failed to provide entirely convincing evidence and sources to back his claims.” In a statement of his own, Tarizz disputed that he had inadequate evidence for a story, and claimed he has so much evidence that he is “still considering a lawsuit against the FCC.” 10/09/11 - Missing asari found alive on Eiava Dr. Moza Madeis has been discovered by an Eldfell-Ashland survey crew on the remote Terminus Systems planet of Eiava. Dr. Madeis was once one of the most accomplished deep space surveyors in the galaxy, before she vanished in early 2132, while on an expedition to the Terminus Systems. Although the doctor has yet to speak to reporters, relayed accounts indicate that her expedition came under fire from a group of pirates, and that their ship crashed on Eiava. Dr. Madeis was the only survivor, and proceeded to spend the next 54 years stranded. Doctors report that Madeis is receiving medical treatment for malnourishment, as well as for several improperly healed injuries, but said that she is expected to survive. October 2011 – Week Two 10/10/11 - Prime Minister visits Citadel Systems Alliance Prime Minister Amul Shastri arrived on the Citadel today, beginning a planned, week-long visit to the station. The Prime Minister was greeted as he arrived by a small crowd of onlookers, who watched as he was whisked away by C-Sec and his MoJ bodyguards to visit with the Citadel Council. Most of the Prime Minister’s visit will be spent at personal meetings with individual Council members, as well as in talks with representatives from throughout Citadel Space. It is expected that trade and defense concerns will be high on the Prime Minister’s agenda, though he will not spend all of his time working: This evening, he is scheduled to attend a showing of the salarian play Saramel, followed by a reception at a private diplomatic residence on the Presidium. Alliance Beacon 10/11/11 - Prime Minister visits embassy staff Systems Alliance Prime Minister Amul Shastri conducted a surprise, hour long visit with rank and file staff at the Alliance Embassy, today. The visit was meant to show the Prime Minister’s gratitude for the embassy staff’s hard work over the past few years, especially as the Alliance has faced greater diplomatic obligations associated with its new role in the galaxy. The Prime Minister reportedly made a small, off camera speech, and then shook hands with, talked to, and posed for photographs with several embassy employees. Most employees seemed thrilled with the visit, with one saying, “It was a great morale boost. We’ve been working so hard here. It’s nice to know we’re appreciated.” Alliance Beacon 10/12/11 - Torak tunnel fighting continues Underground fighting at Clan Torak continues, with the CDEM reporting heavy casualties and harsh conditions. Reports indicate that the krogan combatants are heavily armed, and that the tunnel system is massive, with an untold number of turns and fortified chambers. As the CDEM continues to send waves of troops underground, Torak Ral has released an extranet video in which he plays on the sympathy of the other clans, and calls on them to “follow me into battle against off world scum.” Although the CDEM has reported a few minor incidents elsewhere on Tuchanka, Ral seems to be gaining little sympathy. “Torak Ral always was soft in the head,” said one clan leader. “No one here is going to pick a fight with the CDEM just for him.” 10/13/11 - Dr. Madeis speaks to press Dr. Moza Madeis spoke to the press, today, for the first time since being resuced from Eiava. During the brief event, the asari explained the horror of her 54 year ordeal. “My time on Eiava was terrible,” she said. “Most of the crew died in the crash. The rest didn’t survive long beyond that. The planet was full of predatory wildlife that was constantly hunting me. If I didn’t have my biotics… I don’t even want to think about what would have happened.” The doctor did, however, express gratitude to the Eldfell-Ashland crew that saved her, and went on to discuss her shock at the changed state of the galaxy. “I had never heard of the humans,” she said. “Now they’re everywhere. I understand how things change. But an attack on the Citadel, the restructuring of the Council… There’s so much to absorb.” 10/14/11 - Prime Minister visits wards Following days of diplomatic talks, Prime Minister Amul Shastri spent his last day on the Citadel visiting Zakera, Kithoi, and Tayseri Wards, where he talked with residents, visited several orphanages and homeless shelters, and sampled several restaurants and shops. The excursion was responsible for tying up aircar and pedestrian traffic for hours. Though most residents seemed happy with the visits, the Prime Minister has been criticized by some Wards residents and politicians for causing delays, and for the overly strict security precautions taken by C-Sec and the Prime Minister’s MoJ bodyguards. Tala Zefgron, a Tayseri Ward resident, said, “I was three hours late to work today, and I had to submit to a security scan four times. All because some politician wanted to play tourist. I’m glad he’s going back to Alliance space in the morning.” Alliance Beacon 10/15/11 - Screaming Pyjacks rock Palaven The Screaming Pyjacks took their reunion tour to Palaven last evening, with a concert where they surprised fans by introducing three more new songs. While not as well received as “Flower Sequel,” the fans seemed to agree that the new works were generally enjoyable. More importantly, several felt it was another strong sign that the Pyjacks could be getting back together. “They’re writing songs again,” said one member of the audience. “If they weren’t going to get back together, I don’t think they’d write this many new songs. This is the most excited I’ve been in 20 years. I’ve been hoping for something like this since I was in boot.” October 2011 – Week Three 10/16/11 - Deep Space Prince investigation continues The investigation of the Deep Space Prince continued today, with an announcement that the investigation team has transferred the freighter to the Citadel, and is taking it apart and conducting an intense analysis of every single piece of the ship. “We have an obligation to the Prince’s crew,” said Dr. Donald Palesky, the team leader. “We will not leave a single stone unturned, even if we have to do an individual molecular analysis of every nut and every bolt.” While answering questions, Dr. Palesky informed reporters that attempts to track the ship’s journey or reconstruct its databank records have failed, but reiterated his hope that his team will find answers soon. 10/17/11 - Ex-reporter sues Future Content Corporation Ex-Future Content Corporation reporter Tanil Tarizz officially filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against his former employers today, claiming, among other things, that the company unfairly discriminated against him and fired him in an attempt to crush his journalistic freedom. The FCC was quick to respond: The company gathered together 30 witnesses from Garvug, including civilians, aid workers, and soldiers from both sides of the conflict, who backed claims that Tarizz partially or completely fabricated events he reported in his stories. “Tanil Tarizz has no credibility,” an FCC spokesperson said. “He invented stories about Garvug, and now he’s inventing stories about the Future Content Corporation.” 10/18/11 - Council races send expedition to binary pulsar According to sources close to the Citadel Council, a joint mission involving representatives from the council races will set off for the binary pulsar B1913, to conduct the first close approach ever undertaken by an organic species to this extreme type of stellar corpse. When a massive star explodes, it often leaves behind a dense core called a pulsar (a magnetized neutron star that spins thousands of times per second). Two such stars exploding close to each other can form binary pulsars, with spectacularly unique gravitational wave emissions. According to the citadel source, who chose to remain anonymous, this mission relies on the new Turian Capella-class dreadnought element zero core, which is able to generate sufficient dark energy to maintain a relatively stable and safe orbit near these dangerous objects. 10/19/11 - Quarians wanted to join binary pulsar mission Quarian Admiral Han’Gerrel vas Neema has expressed his disdain over the fact that the quarians have been left out of a mission to the binary pulsar B1913. “Quarians have extensive experience dealing with the stellar life-and-death cycle. We have had operatives, including extremely high ranking quarian citizens, investigating dark energy emissions from pre-supernova stars. Our being left out of this mission is yet another symptom of the council’s unreasonable censure of our species.” The office of the council secretariat issued the following reply: “The exclusion of the quarians from the mission to B1913 was primarily due to the still classified nature of the Capella-class dreadnought element zero core, and not due to any lingering ill feelings stemming from their creation of the geth.” 10/20/11 - Ancient city unearthed on Sur’Kesh An archeological team on the salarian homeworld has unearthed what they believe to be the city of Eddyne. Once thought to be mere legend, Eddyne dates to the early salarian bronze age, and has been the setting of generations of salarian tales and fables. The city was discovered by accident, during an expedition searching the Calehas desert, in an attempt to document ancient salarian trade routes. Archeological experts are already calling the find one of the most important discoveries in salarian history, with Dr. Uligo Fronnus, the team leader, saying, “I’m excited by this discovery. It allows us to explore an entire part of salarian history that no one knew was true. The chance to separate truth from fiction will be fascinating.” 10/21/11 - Scientists, experts to discuss “Doomsday Clock” At an upcoming conference in the UNAS city of Chicago, a group of distinguished scientists, military commanders, diplomats, and analysts will consider how much danger sapient species are in from weapons of mass destruction, emerging biological and nanotechnological threats, and rampant artificial intelligences. The conference is sponsored by the Bulletin of the Physical Scientists, which traces its founding to 1947 CE. Since that year, the Bulletin has symbolized threats to sapient life with a “Doomsday Clock” with “midnight” representing catastrophic extinction. The Doomsday Clock has been set closer and further from midnight as threats have grown and receded. The clock was last changed in 2183, when it was it was moved to its current setting: four minutes to midnight. Galactic Policy Magazine 10/22/11 - Fighting at Clan Torak ends All fighting at Clan Torak has ended. The CDEM reports that, following weeks of brutal combat, they have finished pacifying the tunnels underneath the Torak ancestral capital, with all defending Torak warriors either dead or in custody. The list of Torak casualties includes six Torak warriors wanted for the deaths of the University of Serrice science expedition, as well as clan leader Torak Ral, who died engaging CDEM members in hand to hand combat. The CDEM has released a list of their own killed or wounded to the press. The numbers seem to indicate that the operation is one of the CDEM’s bloodiest in decades. A spokesperson announced today that CDEM forces “will finish searching for prohibited materials, and then withdraw from Torak territory.” October 2011 – Week Four 10/23/11 - Defector claims Hegemony seeks destabilization The Batarian Hegemony “will use every means in its power to encourage galactic destabilization.” This was the conclusion of highly-anticipated testimony today from Thoro’nak Orlom, at the Earth based conference on threats to sapient life. Orlom, a former Hegemony general and the highest ranking military officer ever to defect from the Hegemony, spent two hours briefing the assembled experts on the Hegemony’s capabilities and intentions. At the end of his testimony, Orlom wept as he described the fate of his son, who was “demoted” into slavery for distributing an underground newsletter criticizing the Hegemony’s military policy. “The Hegemony has taken everything that was once good and noble in the batarian soul, and they are consuming it as fuel for perpetual war, even against our own children. There is no hope left for us. You speak of a ‘doomsday’ today, but my people are already doomed to die, if not by your hands, then by our own.” Galactic Policy Magazine 10/24/11 - CDEM forces withdraw from Clan Torak The CDEM has withdrawn their forces from Clan Torak’s territory. The group left after seizing what remained of the clan’s illegal weapons, as well as after setting off charges to collapse the tunnel system beneath the ancestral capital. Clan Torak selected a new leader almost immediately following the CDEM’s withdraw, in the hope of minimizing chances of any border incursions from the neighboring Republic of Ghurst. Reports have surfaced of Ghurst forces entering Torak territory, however, in an apparent attempt to test the strength of surviving Torak defenses. Meanwhile, Torak Vaark, the new clan leader, released a statement in which he portrayed the fight with the CDEM as a victory. “The off worlders faced us in direct combat, and they were forced to retreat,” said Vaark. “They learned that Clan Torak is to be feared!” 10/25/11 - A.I. experts speculate on geth actions, intentions The conference on threats to sapient life recently considered the reasons for geth operations outside the Perseus Vail. “Determining the intentions of geth is difficult because they do not think as other sapients do,” testified Matriarch Niraiis, a technologist who consulted with the geths’ quarian developers over 300 years ago. “Geth are functionally immortal; they cannot ‘die,’ their programs upload and download to new bodies at will. Geth are also optimized for strategic and tactical thinking. New inputs – raw data, analysis, directives–are shared among all geth programs at beyond FTL speed. And there are no divisions in the geth collective consciousness; once a strategic decision has been made, all programs execute it.” Niraiis argued that the geth attacks on Citadel space over the last few years have been a large-scale reconnaissance in force designed to probe the extent of sapient defenses, noting “it costs them nothing in the short-term, it keeps us on alert, and it gives them a chance to refine their battle plans.” Galactic Policy Magazine 10/26/11 - Activists claim unrestricted science poses risk Is the galaxy’s scientific research becoming too dangerous to handle? A number of activists made that case yesterday at the conference on threats to sapient life. Chief among these was Professor Samaasvir, a hanar surgeon and ethicist from the Enkindled Academy of Kahje, and the head of the Intergalactic Coalition for Moral Science. Samaasvir told the conference that uncontrolled biological, nanotechnological, and AI research could lead to disaster if such research is not carefully controlled by governments. “It is disturbing enough to hear reports of such dangerous work in Citadel space,” he said, “but it alarms this one to hear of terrorist syndicates like Cerberus and the Shadow Broker conducting dangerous research beyond the reach of any law.” Samaasvir called for the Citadel Council to increase the number of Spectres, and give them even broader powers to investigate and shut down any dangerous research project in the galaxy, by force if necessary. Galactic Policy Magazine 10/27/11 - Influenza outbreak turns fatal The New Hope colony has been quarantined today, after reports that the influenza outbreak there has turned fatal. Experts have expressed surprise at this turn of events. “Three days ago, patients at New Hope’s main medical center began vomiting blood,” said Dr. Meghan Bryer, with the Alliance Center for Disease Control. “By this morning, they were dead. We’re not sure what has caused this turn of events, especially given the limited fatalities we’ve seen from this strain elsewhere. But we’re working to figure it out.” 10/28/11 - Conference discusses missing colonies Contentious debate on the fate of missing Alliance colonies—and the objectives of those attacking them—was the centerpiece of today’s conference on threats to humanity and sapient life. Renowned salarian xenostrategist Iorit Marsal caused a stir when he attributed the attacks to criminal groups, and claimed the Alliance has “overextended their military capabilities, and now complains like a child that has eaten too much candy.” Other witnesses, like retired Alliance Admiral Jacques D’Allaire, saw things differently. Admiral D’Allaire noted that the attackers appeared to bypass nearby, less well-defended colonies of other species. “What keeps me up at night is how damned thorough these attackers were,” D’Allaire said; “Every last colonist missing and presumed dead. Slavers are cowards and opportunists. Batarians are in it for bragging rights. These attackers apparently care about neither. We don’t know what they want, and that makes them a threat.” Galactic Policy Magazine 10/29/11 - Doomsday clock moved closer to midnight At the conclusion of its conference on threats to sapient life, the Board of the Bulletin of the Physical Scientists moved the hands of its famed “Doomsday Clock” forward. “It is now two minutes to midnight,” said a statement from Board’s chair, Professor Pravin Lal of Oxford University. “Humanity–indeed, all sapient life–treads perilously close to oblivion. Not since humanity’s discovery of other life in the galaxy nearly provoked galactic war has the danger to our species been so palpable, and not since the Rachni Wars has the galaxy as a whole faced such intractable threats. In these dangerous times, we all have a responsibility to speak truth to power, especially if it might induce action to reduce the threats facing all sapient life. To do anything less would be negligent.” The Bulletin’s full statement is accessible via the extranet, keyword “Doomsday.” Galactic Policy Magazine 10/30/11 - Scientist dismissed from freighter investigation Sunday, October 30th, 2011 A Vol Protectorate scientist has been dismissed from the investigation of the MSV Deep Space Prince, after reports surfaced that he has been selling parts of the freighter on the extranet. Authorities became suspicious of Dr. Merd Klet after the users of several extranet forums reported posts offering to sell pieces of the Prince. Unfortunately, the scientist was not stopped before at least twelve small items were sold and sent to buyers across the galaxy. “We are trying to track the missing pieces, but it seems that most may be outside of C Space jurisdiction,” said one C-Sec investigator. “Rest assured that we are looking into filing charges against Merd Klet for his actions.” October 2011 – Week Five 10/31/11 - Humans celebrate Halloween Many human worlds celebrate Halloween today, and Presidium businessman Hollis Westin wants to make sure that everyone is part of the fun. Westin has organized an open “Halloween celebration” at the Ratara Resort Ballroom, in Zakera Ward. The celebration, which is being held free of charge, will feature several traditional Halloween themes, including a costume contest, levo and dextro snacks, and a traditional human game known as “bobbing for apples,” with paltara fruits substituted for turian participants. Kitt For, a long-time friend of Westin, and CEO of the Presidium based Protectorate Imports Company, told reports that he plans to attend with his exo-suit detailed to look like a Jack-O-Lantern. “I think it’s important to have a sense of humor,” he said. “These Earth-clan know how to throw a good party, and I plan to be part of the fun.” Category:Cerberus Daily News Articles